4 Pines Kolsch - 4 Pines Brewing Company

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle shared by Jason, 12oz bottle into a tulip.

Filtered golden orange, with a white head. Leaves a ring of retention and light lacing. Nose is fruity, some sweet grape notes, oranges, sweet breadiness and grains. Taste has more grainy bread character, mild fruitiness and some sweet malt in the finish. Mild bitterness. Medium body, medium carbonation. A nice fruitier lager.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 19:20:49 | More by liamt07

Steppenwolf

Australia

3.89/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Seems to have a complexity to it, jumping from gold (just shy of old gold) to a bronzed chroma and back again. Sophisticated, glossy and tranquil. Perfect fleece. This would make the most dedicated tea-totaler surrender. Immediately offers potential.

Smell: Not marked, yet if you quaff with the dedication of a scholar there is a note of fresh barley hidden there.

Taste: Confirmed. Barley and hay parrying with each other, a lingering (yet very delicate and polite) sweetness on the front. Mineral suggestions. Exceedingly well balanced. Nothing stands forth and heralds you, but the overall mood is one of relaxed agreeability. Behind this shyness lies a sincere and principled session-beer.

** I gratefully treat myself to another.

Mouthfeel: A medium-body which goes down effortlessly, softens the throat. Beyond just the mouth my whole upper GI-tract acquiesces. Wow.

Overall: I can now reverently understand why the kölsch waiters in Cologne will keep refilling you unprompted, and this beer seems to be a distinguished example of such commitment to unassuming quality.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 09:29:19 | More by Steppenwolf

XsoldoutX

Australia

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%

04-12-2013 05:27:46 | More by XsoldoutX

magpieken

Australia

4.5/5  rDev +26.4%

04-08-2013 15:53:14 | More by magpieken

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.89/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

The tail-end of Sydney's summer is wagging, so after a hot walk home this seemed like a sensible option. I've had it on tap here, there, and everywhere around the place but have never reviewed it, and I'm not sure I've ever had it from the bottle before either. This is a 330ml bottle purchased from Dan Murphy's in Alexandria.

Looks good, like it should: perfectly clear pale golden colour, with a firm, slightly frothy but fine head of pure white. Minimal streaking lace, fine carbonation which is actually rather languid in the glass. Body looks pleasantly light, except for those bubbles which seem swamped in a much thicker, heavier beer. I started with "looks good", and I've seen nothing to change my mind.

Nose is fine. Crisp, light grainy malt characters, with a light cereal greenness. Hops are muted, but noticeable: they're enough to provide a little balance at least. Some faint floral overtones, and a suggestion of metal. It's crisp, light and calm. Perfectly acceptable.

Taste is also perfectly acceptable: clean light malt jangles with faint grain characters, crisp firm hop tones provide a direct but tamed vector down the centre of the palate. Crisp finish with some husky flavours rounding it out: it's pleasant. Feel is really quite smooth throughout, carbonation is reigned in nicely but provides a subtle lift to the flavours, and aids the crispness on the finish.

In terms of clean, drinkable beers, it's pretty hard to fault this. Some might pejoratively say this is a "lager-drinkers ale" (perhaps spitting on the ground as they do), but I like to think that it's an ale aspiring to the true greatness that only a lager can provide. It's a good alternative in any case, and I'm happy this is getting a wider distribution.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 06:28:19 | More by lacqueredmouse

ColSanders123

Georgia

3.75/5  rDev +5.3%

02-11-2013 20:13:28 | More by ColSanders123

Jake321

4.5/5  rDev +26.4%

01-09-2013 11:55:54 | More by Jake321

jraldous

Australia

3.75/5  rDev +5.3%

11-17-2012 08:54:12 | More by jraldous

kazoo

3/5  rDev -15.7%

10-20-2012 12:21:31 | More by kazoo

pin

Australia

2.5/5  rDev -29.8%

08-15-2012 02:58:49 | More by pin

mungus

Australia

3.25/5  rDev -8.7%

06-03-2012 13:49:09 | More by mungus

tbeckett

Ontario (Canada)

2.25/5  rDev -36.8%

05-07-2012 22:09:05 | More by tbeckett

machalel

Australia

3.73/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Bright yellow with a thick pure-white head. Head only lasts for an average amount of time, but leaves persistant lacing down the glass.

Aroma: Strong, but not overpowering. Melon, citrus, a bit of malt, and some fresh almost noble type hoppiness.

Taste: Light and refreshing, citrusy and a little sharp. A good amount of bitterness (claimed 22 IBU) to balance the malt. Nothing stands out as a fault, but not inspiring either.

Mouthfeel: Quite light, reasonable carbonation, and a touch dry. Very well balanced.

Overall: A well balanced, light, citrusy, sessionable, and morish ale. It doesn't set out to break any boundaries, except maybe the boundary between macro and micro. Drinkers from both sides of the fence should be able to enjoy this drop. It is mild enough that the former won't get an unexpected taste suprise, and interesting enough that the latter wont get too bored.

My first 4-Pines brew, and I'm definitely going back to try their other offerings.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2012 08:23:50 | More by machalel

jarmby1711

Australia

3.98/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pale and a moderately cloudy it retained a fine white head
Smells very faintly of citrus leaves and malt
The citrous tones are evident , perhaps more lime and there is a resinous mid palate overlaying a unsweetened malt.
Thickish in the mouth and resonably tart to finish .
Not a sessionable ale for me , more of a quick cleanser on a hot Sydney evening

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 07:20:32 | More by jarmby1711

hopnerd

Australia

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%

04-17-2012 11:29:23 | More by hopnerd

shambeano

Australia

3.48/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a pint glass!

A- Pours a clear golden yellow with about a cm of really bubbly head that quickly subsides to next to nothing.

S- a touch of malt straight up, a little bit of sweetness, some herbally grassy hop in there as well.

T- again, some sweetish malts to begin with, with the same hop flavours finishing it off but maybe with a touch of lemon as well, slight bitterness rounds everything out. nothing too special, but nothing unpleasant. above average.

M- lighter bodied, some tingly carbonation. drys the mouth only a little.

O- not too strong on flavours, but everything is pleasant. easy drinking, and on a hot day i could have and enjoy several.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2012 06:50:22 | More by shambeano

joecast

Australia

4.08/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very clear, very light golden color. Thin white head leaves a bit of lacing. Medium carbonation.

Great aroma here. Light citrus and honey malt. Very appealing.

Light honey malt in the taste sets a nice base for the beer. Restrained bitterness cuts through the sweetness giving it a lot more character than expected.

Still waiting to have a bad beer from these guys. They know hops. I like hops. Sounds like a good match o me. Oh, and kudos for their etched bottle dating.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2012 07:53:13 | More by joecast

argon

Australia

3.13/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Was sent a bottle direct from the brewery for sampling.

Very bright pale straw colour, well carbonated with an initially large white head that lightly laced the glass. Good looking beer that would appeal to the everyday drinker recognizable as a familiar beer.

Not much in the way of malt, nor hop aroma. Did get some very slight sulfur that persisted as it warmed up. Not a very exciting beer to smell. Again, nothing offensive, just reasonably unexciting. No light fruitiness at all.

The flavour, same as the aroma is nothing too exciting. It is very clean and crisp with a very light (hardly perceptible) slight mineral and sulfur character. Malt sweetness and hop bitterness balanced to the point of neither being present.

Well attenuated and dry to medium body, crisp with bitterness that is well balanced, leaving a very sessionable beer.

Overall i think it's a very well made beer. I would like the beer a little more if, using this base, a little more fruity fermentation character was present and maybe a touch more malt presence.

I can understand that this beer (and Kolsch in general) can be seen as a gateway beer to craft beer. However, there is a dilemma that the brewer faces, in that the average beer drinker won't go for it, cause it tastes very similar to the commercial stuff they drink all the time. Whereas the beer aficionado will be looking for something with a bit more character as a special one off, or even as a go to beer.

For mine, the beer right now, is too similar (although very well made and much more drinkable) to 90% of the stuff that is both cheaper and more widely available.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2012 00:54:55 | More by argon

3.4/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours very pale straw yellow colour with medium white head. Extremely clear

Subdued is a good word here. I get a little bit of dough yeast, some floral notes and a strange cardboard smell. Perhaps I'm used to drinking more pungent aromatic beers.

Really clean, crisp taste. Lemon, yeast, some floral notes perhaps chamomile. It's definitely refreshing.

Mouthfeel is delicately carbonated, thin body, perfect for this style.

Overall this beer is nice in palate, it goes down easy like lemonade.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2012 10:04:31 | More by

heygeebee

Australia

4/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

From notes @ Harts Pub

Pours a light straw colour, good bubbles with a half finger head. Head recedes. No real lacing.

Aromas of lemons, grapefruit - light delicate restrained

Taste is also light and restrained, malt driven, with a bitterness at finish. All of the above does NOT shout macro tho....

Mouthfeel is light, crisp, refreshing.

Overall, great cold beer, but also a very very good sessionable one. A real find on tap.

Serving type: on-tap

01-05-2012 05:28:24 | More by heygeebee

dansmcd

Australia

3.6/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Furiously effervescent with aggressive waves of bubbles surging upwards to the surface. Pale golden colour with a thick, soapy white head and sticky chunks of lacing all around. Really nice looking.

S - Quite sweet with some grassy hops, spice and faint yeast.

T - Low profile grain, corn and grass.

M - Medium bodied with high carbonation. Refreshing and crisp.

O - Not a bad kolsch at all, which is far from one of my favourite styles. Holds up well from start to finish.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2011 02:29:43 | More by dansmcd

danieelol

Australia

3/5  rDev -15.7%

11-28-2011 15:03:21 | More by danieelol

nanobrew

California

4.25/5  rDev +19.4%

11-14-2011 20:40:55 | More by nanobrew

Macca

Australia

3.48/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This pours a clear bright golden colour with a minimal white head.

Getting some pleasant grassy notes on the nose. Fresh and clean. A bit of bready malt.

Very similar on the palate. A bit of citrus too. Bitterness is there but not assertive.

Light bodied.

Decent enough. Sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2011 06:25:18 | More by Macca

laituegonflable

Australia

3.43/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a pale straw colour, mild haze and light bead. Head is webbed out, pretty uneventful though; thin trail of lace. Pretty dull, really.

Smells fairly fresh and pleasant. Mild citric notes and some floral characters - grass and chamomile with notable cereal grain notes hiding behind as well. Not amazing but fairly fresh and enjoyable.

Taste is grainy for the most part, with plenty of cereal notes, oats and barley and a growing bitterness that starts midway and gets slightly more astringent towards the back. Fairly citric with lemon and grapfruit, developing a more phenolic, spicy bite on the finish. Hint of pepper to the very back. Decent, and intriguing, if not overly delicious.

Fairly light body lets the carbonation show through, not too severely though so it's OK.

Decent, interesting beer. Which is more than I can say for most Kölsches.

Serving type: on-tap

10-09-2011 00:46:56 | More by laituegonflable